The FTSE 100 oil company, one of the leading proponents of carbon offsetting, abandoned targets to invest up to $100m (£80m) a year in carbon credit schemes and purchase 120m nature offsets a year by 2030.
This move was part of a broader watering down of its climate ambitions in June, the oil firm confirmed.
The decision, first reported in Bloomberg, means Shell joins Gucci, Leon, Nestlé and other firms in moving away from offsets amid repeated warnings that huge numbers of carbon credits do nothing to mitigate global heating.
This year the Guardian published an investigation which found that the vast majority of rainforest carbon offsets were worthless.
Shell said it still supported carbon credits, however, and welcomed efforts to improve their quality.
The Carbon Trust, one of the leading environmental certification schemes, discontinued its "carbon neutral" labelling scheme, which had been based on offsets. A Carbon Trust director acknowledged that consumers could have been inadvertently misled by the labelling owing to poorquality offsets.
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Denne historien er fra September 09, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Bajrami and McCausland to the fore as Rangers seal impressive victory
Rangers made a storming start to their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 win over Malmö in Sweden that should have been even more emphatic. Nedim Bajrami scored his first goal for the Ibrox club in less than a minute and Philippe Clement's side passed up several chances to add a second before the interval.
Thames credit ratings cut to lower levels of junk as default fears grow
Thames Water's debt rating has been slashed to the lower levels of junk by two major credit rating agencies, piling further pressure on the UK's biggest water company, which is rapidly running through cash and fighting to stave off renationalisation.
Austria Fears rise over prospect of far-right election win
After topping the Austrian poll in June's EU elections, the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ) seized the moment, calling for the appointment of an EU \"remigration\" commissioner to be tasked with the forced return of migrants and citizens with a migration background to their countries of origin.
'Cold and direct' Fayed's security chief accused of facilitating abuse
It was May 1991 and Mohamed AI Fayed was in a foul mood. \"I told you, no sex with anybody else, no relationship with anybody else,\" he ranted.
Allegations made over tycoon's years at Fulham FC
Sexual assault allegations have been made relating to Mohamed AI Fayed's 16 years of ownership of Fulham Football Club, lawyers representing his accusers have said.
'No sane people are going' Leadership race casts pall over Tory conference
On Tuesday, four candidates will make their pitches to lead the Conservative party from a conference stage in Birmingham. Their immediate challenge after the Tory rout this summer will be to reinvigorate demoralised MPs and members.
Pandemic as deadly as Covid-19 'a certainty', says Whitty
Another pandemic as big as the Covid crisis that killed 7 million people worldwide was \"a certainty\", Prof Sir Chris Whitty warned yesterday, as he said the UK's lack of intensive care capacity for the sickest patients was a \"political choice\".
Naomi Campbell banned as charity trustee for five years
Naomi Campbell has been banned from being a charity trustee after a watchdog investigation uncovered widespread evidence of financial misconduct at the poverty relief charity she founded.
Family haunted by last moments of teenager killed by 12-year-olds
The family of a man killed by the UK's youngest knife murderers have said they are haunted by thoughts of his last moments and \"how scared he must have been\".
London rail stations to be shut for up to eight days over festive period
Some of London's main railway stations will be closed and train services diverted at Christmas time, Network Rail has said.